Thief is the Thing with Feathers by Bodil Jonsson
That Wyl Menmuir appears in the media right now is expected since he recently came out with a new novel. The story reporters have contacted him about lately though, is not the one about Wren in Foxfires, but one where Wyl himself features together with a thieving crow. With headlines like ‘Wyl Menmuir has Wallet Stolen by Crow at Flushing Beach’(Falmouth Packet) ‘Crow Nicked Man’s Wallet from his Pocket then Dropped it on Top of Tree’ (Metro) and ‘Crow Steals Man's Wallet from His Trousers and Dumps it on a Tree’ (Cornwall Live) Wyl has found himself talking more about the contents in his wallet, than the contents of his novel lately. This is something Wyl seems to take lightly, however.
- I think at the moment people are in need of a laugh and it has been lovely to hear from so many people who have found the story amusing. It started as a tweet for friends to have a bit of a laugh at my expense, but I’m glad it might have made other people smile, too.
Although it started as a tweet for friends, the story has now even made it into one of Russia’s most popular online newspapers, Lenta.ru.
- I love that the crow story has made it all the way to Russia, though I’m still most disappointed that no one has used the headline 'Thief is The Thing With Feathers' yet.
As to whether the story will lead to anything more than some headlines and a good laugh, Wyl says that:
- You never know. I was doing research for a new book when it happened so the story may well work its way into one of the chapters. Or maybe it will lead me to write something about crows. I’m a firm believer that everything that happens, whatever it is and no matter how funny, sad or terrifying, is material for writers, so I’m sure it will end up woven into a story somewhere.